Mob boss Whitey Bulger killed in West Virginia prison: reports1:32

Mob boss James 'Whitey' Bulger has been killed after being moved to a new prison, according to US media.
The FBI is investigating the death of the 89-year-old Boston mafia chief, who was convicted in 2013 of being complicit in 11 mob killings.
The career criminal has been found dead at the Hazelton high security prison in West Virginia, after reportedly being moved there from another jail in Oklahoma.
He had arrived in that prison from a jail in Florida.

October 30th 2018

5 months ago

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Police raid a cafe in Duisburg, Germany, as part of a mafia raid. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

Police in Europe have arrested at least 84 suspected mobsters and seized around 2 million euros ($A3.1 million) in co-ordinated raids targeting a powerful branch of the Italian mafia.

The raids in Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands are the culmination of an investigation codenamed Pollino that was launched in 2016 against the ‘Ndrangheta criminal group on allegations of cocaine trafficking, money laundering, bribery and violence.

The operation was co-ordinated by Eurojust, the European prosecution agency that fights cross-border organised crime.

Policemen raid a cafe in Germany, as part of a mafia crackdown. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

Eurojust said the massive operation was the biggest of its kind in Europe. Four tonnes of cocaine were traced during the two-year joint investigation, while cocaine and ecstasy pills were seized in Wednesday’s raids.

Settimino Mineo, jeweller and new head of the Sicilian mafia, is arrested in Palermo. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

The latest clampdown on the Italian mafia signals the European authorities’ efforts to combat organised crime groups, reports Fox News.

The ’Ndrangheta is considered the leading mafia group that managed to extend its reach even amid the scrutiny and constant arrests. It’s the only mafia group that operates on all continents, prosecutors say.

The group surpassed Sicily’s Cosa Nostra and the Naples-based Camorra groups, according to AFP, due to its tight on the control of cocaine trade.

Police at a residence in Cologne. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

The Wednesday arrests came just a day after the authorities announced the arrest of Settimo Mineo, 80, the presumed new boss of the Cosa Nostra. He was arrested together with 45 other top mobsters, Italian authorities said Tuesday.

In Germany, federal police said there had been multiple arrests in early morning raids on premises linked to the southern Italy-based crime group. Five suspects were arrested in the Netherlands, where prosecutors got the ball rolling for the investigation in 2014 with probes into two Italian restaurants. More people were detained over the border in Belgium.

Italian police hailed the co-operation between European police forces, saying it was an important new crime-fighting tactic that allowed investigators in different countries to share information in real time.

Police at the Italian Osteria restaurant in Pulheim near Cologne. The owner was arrested as part of a mafia crackdown. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

Federico Cafiero De Raho, Italian anti-mafia and anti-terrorism national prosecutor, sounded a note of caution, saying the raids only scratched the surface of the powerful ‘ndrangheta, whose tentacles and illicit activities spread all over the world.

Speaking in The Hague, Mr De Raho said the arrests are “nothing” for the ‘Ndrangheta group.

“There are thousands of people who should be arrested and billions of euros that should be seized,” he said.